3 First Steps When Assigned to M&A at a Large Corporation
In 2025, the global M&A market reached $5 trillion, marking the second-highest level of activity on record.
Behind these impressive numbers, however, the reality facing M&A teams in Korea has grown more complex than ever, and practitioners are grappling with deeper challenges.
The old playbook of simply acquiring "profitable markets" no longer works.
Markets have become more complex, regulations more stringent, and the success formula for M&A has fundamentally changed.
This article analyzes the real state of the 2026 M&A market through current data and actual cases.
We'll reveal 'the essence of acquisition strategy' that new and junior practitioners in corporate M&A, New Business Development, and Corporate Development teams must understand, and identify the core competencies needed to survive in this rapidly changing landscape.
The Reality Facing Corporate New Business and M&A Teams in 2026
If M&A teams once focused primarily on 'what to buy for growth,' the challenge in 2026 has evolved to a more fundamental question: 'how to survive and how to prove value.' M&A teams now stand at the center of strategic decision-making that determines a company's future, moving beyond simple transaction execution.
M&A teams in 2026 face three core challenges:
First, Survival Strategy Through Business Restructuring
These represent strategic choices to divest non-core businesses and reinvest the proceeds in future core industries like AI and semiconductors. M&A teams now face the difficult task of not only acquiring new assets but also recognizing the limits of existing businesses and boldly divesting to restructure portfolios.
Second, Pressure for Responsible Management
Following the 2025 bankruptcy protection filing by Homeplus, where a Private Equity (PE) fund was the major shareholder, social demands to protect workers, suppliers, and other stakeholders during M&A processes have intensified.
M&A now requires consideration of non-financial factors like ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) beyond financial performance and fulfilling social responsibility—a weighty challenge.
Third, Defense Strategy Against Shareholder Activism
Combined with the government's corporate Value Enhancement program, activist funds are asking M&A teams increasingly sharp questions and demanding proof of corporate value. M&A teams must now develop strategies to defend against external attacks and protect management control.
In conclusion, M&A practitioners in 2026 must evolve beyond mere number-crunchers to become 'strategists' who read macroeconomic trends, design business structures, and coordinate diverse stakeholder interests.
2. Notable Strategic M&A Cases from Korean Conglomerates in 2025
Despite increased complexity and Risk, M&A remains the most powerful strategic tool for launching new businesses quickly and transforming market dynamics overnight.
Particularly amid the massive wave of AI, Korean companies' M&A activities are evolving into essential strategies for securing the future beyond mere survival.
Let's examine insights for 2026 through strategic Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) cases executed by leading Korean conglomerates in 2025.
Samsung Electronics Acquires FlaktGroup, Europe's Largest HVAC Company
Samsung Electronics completed a 100% stake acquisition of Germany's FlaktGroup, Europe's largest HVAC company, for approximately KRW 2.5 trillion (€1.5 billion). This marks its first major deal in roughly eight years since the Harman acquisition in 2017, drawing significant market attention.
This acquisition is significant as Samsung Electronics expands beyond the individual HVAC market centered on residential and commercial system air conditioners into the 'central HVAC' market for large buildings and industrial facilities.
AI data centers require critical heat management due to the massive data processing that occurs 24/7. By securing FlaktGroup's precision HVAC technology, Samsung aims to dominate the data center cooling market, projected to reach approximately KRW 62 trillion by 2030.
Ultimately, Samsung Electronics plans to leverage FlaktGroup's global network and brand competitiveness to significantly strengthen B2B business capabilities and emerge as a top-tier supplier in the next-generation AI infrastructure market.
Naver Acquires Dunamu
The deal represents an attempt to build next-generation financial infrastructure by combining artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, heralding the birth of a giant fintech company through the combination of Upbit, which holds 64% of Korea's virtual asset market, and Naver Pay, the leading simple payment service.
If combined, the companies' assets would total approximately KRW 40 trillion, surpassing major conglomerate CJ Group. The Synergy between online shopping and stablecoins is expected to create powerful competitiveness capable of replacing existing card payment systems.
However, concerns about violating the 'separation of finance and virtual assets' principle and intensifying monopolies have prompted financial authorities to announce thorough reviews, suggesting considerable challenges before actual merger approval.
3. The Problem 99% of M&A Practitioners Face: Information Asymmetry
The biggest obstacle to M&A success is ultimately an 'information' problem: the gap between what we know and market reality, and the tremendous pressure to close that gap within limited time.
The fastest and most effective way to solve this problem is to uncover information unavailable through desk research by interviewing field experts.
According to Diligent (2025), as of 2025, 61% of companies utilize Expert Network Services during M&A Due Diligence (DD), and 68% of institutional decision-makers validate strategies through them—data demonstrating a growing understanding in the market that internal information alone has clear limitations.
Moreover, M&A Due Diligence (DD) has become so complex that it now requires examination of ESG, cybersecurity, and data privacy beyond finance and legal matters. Yet perfectly verifying everything with internal resources alone within a short timeframe is practically impossible.
Ultimately, M&A success depends on 'how quickly and accurately external verified information can be secured to reduce decision-making uncertainty.' Without overcoming the invisible wall of information asymmetry, even the most brilliant strategies and analyses become useless.
4. Practical Roadmap for M&A Practitioners: 3 Action Plans
What should new or junior practitioners on New Business Development teams or Corporate Development teams responsible for M&A start with in the complex M&A world?
While understanding sophisticated analytical models and theories matters, developing the ability to understand and execute proven practical processes is most important.
We present three realistic action plans for new corporate M&A practitioners to prove their value and survive in projects.
Action 1: Target Sourcing - Finding the Answer to 'Which Company Should We Acquire?'
Every M&A begins with the question 'which company should we acquire?' Therefore, the ability to source good Acquisition Targets is the most fundamental and core M&A skill. Practice creating a target Longlist following these three steps:
Clarify Acquisition Purpose: First, clearly answer "why are we pursuing M&A?" You need a clear objective—market expansion, technology acquisition, competitor elimination, etc.—to find suitable targets without wavering. Understand your team's strategic direction and define this M&A's core objective in one sentence.
Market Research and Candidate Exploration: Once objectives are set, research relevant markets and broadly explore potential Acquisition Target companies. Use these tools:
Industry Reports and News: Understand the macro picture including Market Size, growth rates, and competitive environment.
Company Databases: Screen companies meeting specific financial criteria (e.g., revenue over KRW 10 billion, operating margin above 10%).
Expert Networks: Highly effective for obtaining information about hidden market leaders or off-market deals unavailable through public information alone.
Prioritization: Evaluate collected candidates based on 'strategic fit' and 'financial criteria' established in Step 1, then prioritize. This process produces a target Longlist of approximately 10-20 companies.
Action 2: Initial Validation - Asking Sharp Questions: 'Is This Target Really Right for Us?'
Once the Longlist is ready, validate whether each target is truly the 'right' acquisition for us. Since you cannot deeply investigate everything within limited time, quickly separating wheat from chaff through 'killer questions' is crucial.
At this stage, Expert Interviews become your most powerful weapon. A single Expert Interview can validate or discard hypotheses developed over days of intensive internal work.
When conducting Expert Interviews, raise the quality of questions to extract experts' knowledge and information as specifically as possible, rather than asking vague questions.
Vague Question (Bad Question) | Sharp Question Leveraging Experts (Good Question) |
"Will this market grow?" | "What are the top 3 growth drivers in this market, and how are major players leveraging each driver?" |
"How is Company A's technology?" | "What specific advantages does Company A's technology have over competitors, and how long will that technological moat last?" |
"Is Company B's reputation good?" | "What are the biggest pain points actual customers using Company B's products experience, and why haven't these been resolved yet?" |
Through such questions, we can identify Acquisition Target companies' actual market competitiveness and Risks beyond financial statements. Practice building hypotheses and asking sharp questions to the best experts who can validate them.
Action 3: Due Diligence Preparation - Creating a Checklist: 'What Risks Cannot Be Missed?'
For the few Shortlist companies that pass initial validation, prepare for formal Due Diligence (DD). While new practitioners cannot be responsible for all Due Diligence (DD) areas, they need to know 'what to verify' and 'what red flags to detect.'
Therefore, we recommend creating a minimum Red Flag checklist that must be verified during Due Diligence (DD). Below is a sample checklist:
Financial Red Flags:
Are there unexplained sharp revenue fluctuations or irregular accounting treatments?
Do reported asset values differ significantly from actual market values?
If profitable, why is operating cash flow consistently poor?
Operational Red Flags:
Does a substantial portion of total revenue depend on a few specific customers?
Is dependence on a small number of personnel holding core technology excessively high?
Why has turnover among key personnel been noticeably high over the past 2-3 years?
Legal Red Flags:
Are there ongoing or potential litigation Risks?
Will licenses or patents essential to the business expire soon?
Of course, you cannot find precise answers to all these questions. However, simply asking these questions, detecting warning signs, and noting "this area appears to require additional review" is a valuable contribution in itself.
5. Brainconnect AI: A Trusted Partner for M&A Practitioners
The most efficient way to solve information asymmetry and validation difficulties in M&A is through 'Expert Networks.'
This demonstrates that market demand is proving the effectiveness of Expert Networks.
Expert Network Services are evolving to match optimal experts faster and more accurately through AI, and to extract insights by analyzing Expert Interview content.
Moreover, the importance of connecting experts through verified and trustworthy platforms is increasingly emphasized.
Brainconnect AI best reflects these latest industry trends, solving M&A practitioners' information search difficulties through AI-based matching technology, supporting rapid validation processes, and minimizing regulatory Risks.
Instead of relying on internal networks or vague searches, you can connect with core industry experts within just a few hours to secure highly reliable primary information.
Leveraging Expert Interviews during early M&A review stages is no longer optional—it's an essential strategy for increasing success probability. Brainconnect AI is the proven tool that makes this process most efficient and secure.
The 2026 M&A market is more complex than ever, yet M&A's power remains strong. The key to success lies in 'fast and accurate external information validation,' and Expert Networks are the most powerful tool for this.
For M&A strategies on which your company's future depends, explore new possibilities through Brainconnect AI.
Start Expert Interviews with Brainconnect AI
References
Dailyan. (2026, January 12). 2026 Global M&A Market Outlook.
Herald Economy. (2026, January 2). Three Keywords for Korea's 2026 M&A Market.
Global epic. (2025, November 28). Naver Financial-Dunamu Merger Faces Many Hurdles
Diligent. (2025, July 17). A comprehensive guide to M&A due diligence with a 20-point checklist.
Acquisition Stars. (2025, December 10). M&A Due Diligence Guide: Timeline, Checklist & Red Flags.
Phoenix Strategy Group. (2024, December 30). 5 Steps for M&A Target Identification.
M&A Leadership Council. (2024, May 9). 32 Due Diligence Red Flags.
AlphaSense. (2025, March 26). 4 Expert Network Industry Trends to Watch in 2025.